University of Minnesota students participate in soil judging contest
By Dr. Terry Cooper
Norfolk, Neb. - This years soil judging contest was hosted by the University of Nebraska and organized by Dr. Bill Zanner. Team members included Andy Dosdall, Teddi Seibring, Kelsey Larson and Tristan Beaster. We left the Twin Cities on Sunday morning and arrived in Norfolk, Neb. around 6 p.m. We practiced on Monday and Tuesday, doing four pits the first day and three on the second.
On Tuesday afternoon we toured Ashfall Historic State Park -- an area with 8 million year-old fossils. The animals had been preserved in volcanic ash and are unique fossil specimens. We practiced again on Wednesday after the filled-in pits were re-dug (it seems that the backhoe operator was confused on when to fill in the practice pits). Unfortunately, the newly redug profiles only slightly matched the official descriptions.
Thursday…Contest Day
We moved out at 7:40 a.m. in a 10-passenger caravan. Both contest sites were in the same field on the north end of the community college farm in Norfolk. We arived just as the sun began warming the cool 50-degree morning temperatures.
We encountered some problems with the signs at the pits and there was a mix up on the number of horizons each site was allowed to have was a problem. Some of the instructions the pit monitors used were also confusing but we finally got everything straightened out. The coaches started grading papers around 10:30 a.m. as they walked around looking at the pits and taking pictures of the contestants. We also checked out the sites to make sure they fit the keys we were using.
The judgers were finished at 11:30 a.m. and we moved on to lunch at the Hoskins (450 pop.) community center (sloppy joes and salads). This was the second sloppy joe meal provided by the host! The students surmised that Nebraskans just like them sloppy joes -- or "loosemeat sandwiches" if you're from Sioux City, Iowa.
We drove to the afternoon pits by 12:40 p.m. and were underway by 1:00 pm. Making a lucky draw, Minnesota was paired with Nebraska as a team to do sites 1, 2, 3, and then to sit out last. After Minnesota completed the three team sites we were able to leave for the motel (~ 4:00 pm).
The students all had a good time and, after looking at 16 northeast Nebraskan soils, their soil description skills have vastly improved. They certainly know a lot more about Nebraskan soils then they ever thought they would! It was a great experience for all involved.
All the contest pits were similar to soils we had visited, but the descriptions used for similar soils did not always match the practice site descriptions in terms of the cambic, argillic, and none subsoil horizons. The five contest sites were:
1) MWD Haplustoll formed from glacial till with scl and cl textures;
2) MWD Haplustoll formed from glacial till with fsl and cl textures; Team Sites
3) MWD Haplustoll formed from loess with sicl and sil textures;
4) WD Ustifluvent formed from alluvium with sil and fsl textures;
5) SPD Haplustoll formed from loess with sil textures.
Kansas State was first in the overall team judging with 2,043 points, and South Dakota State was second with 2,035 points. Iowa State finished first in the team judging with 740 points. Minnesota finished in 6th place with 1,770 points in the overall event and 644 points in the team contest.
The Minnesota Judgers worked hard during the week and with a different interpretation of a mollic here, or cambic there (and dropping the argillics), would have allowed them to finish much higher. Their textures and horizon designations were very good for the contest pits.
Next fall South Dakota State University is hosting the Soil Judging contest in the Black Hills region near Deadwood. See Dr. Cooper if you would like to be involved!
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